The Stalker of Shadows
by Shadoe
Summary: A criminal arrives in the Beast Wars. Does she want to get even? If she does, with who?
1. Escape

DISCLAIMER: Hasbro Inc, and those aphiliated own the Beast Wars, not me.   
The plot and Paraleasion is mine. I am not making any profit. 

_Author's note_: If you wanna play with any of the other characters, I don't really care,   
they're yours. Just leave Paraleasion to me. Thanks. Shadoe 

**The Stalker of Shadows**   
**Chapter 1 - Escape**   
By: Shadoe 

The bars came out easily when she pulled. She smiled, putting the pieces of metal back in place, red beams surrounding them again. There, that was done, now to take care of the transformation lock attached to her ankle.   
"Still trying to escape with that crazy plan of yours?" a male voice from the bottom bunk asked.   
"Yes." she replied.   
"I could still tell one of the guards." he said.   
"You draw breath to yell for a guard and you'll be joining the Matrix so fast you won't know what hit you." she threatened.   
"Threats will get you nowhere, Paraleasion." he replied.   
"You can still come with me Hygus." Paraleasion offered.   
"Taking off the transformation lock without the key is death." Hygus stated.   
"Good thing you're a medic then." she said, turning towards him.   
"Why?" he asked.   
"Because." she grunted, leaping onto the top bed. "You can teach me to repair now, so you'll be up and running when yours comes off." She frowned, "Or something like that."   
"That's a crazy idea." Hygus said.   
"Why?" Paraleasion asked, rustling around, hiding her crudely made tools.   
"You and others are going to die." he responded.   
"So?" she said.   
"Other transformers could die." he sighed. Her head popped into his vision, upside down, violet eyes bored.   
"That would tear you apart to kill an innocent, wouldn't it?" she asked.   
"Yes," he answered, "Would it bother you?"   
"Why do you think I'm here?" Paraleasion replied. She thought for a few cycles, "As a matter of fact, you should know. You helped put me in here."   
"You returned the favor, half-breed." Hygus stated.   
"Actually, Aurora did." she said.   
"Fine, your Mommy did." he taunted. The next moment Hygus sprawled on the floor, Paraleasion on top of him holding an energon knife at his throat.   
"Let's get this straight. My parents are dead and I will not allow you or anyone slander their names in front of me." she said, "Understand?" When he didn't answer she pressed the knife harder against his neck. "I could cut off your head and carve out your spark right now. Nobody would know about it and they really could care less that a murderer died the same way his victims did. No one would mourn your passing. Not me, not anyone. You'd just be another body to add to the scrap heap. Do you understand, Maximal?"   
"Yes." he replied nervously.   
"Good." she said, backing off, knife still out. There was a knock at the cell's reinforced door, making it clang loudly.   
"Everything all right in there?" a male voice asked. Hygus opened his mouth to say 'no' but Paraleasion is on him, knife biting deeply under the plate and into the voice box below.   
"Everything is just fine." Paraleasion responded, narrowing her eyes in warning at the other bot.   
"Sure?" he inquired.   
"Absolutely." she said.   
"Okay." he replied, footsteps continuing down the hallway. Paraleasion waited until she could not hear him and the sounds from the other inmates filled her ears. She turned her attention back to Hygus, face set in disapproval.   
"I warned you Hygus, now you leave me no choice." she told him. Hygus grabbed the smaller bot my the waist and hurled her against the wall in a desperate attempt. She hit the wall with a sharp thud, slide down the wall and sat in a dazed stupor for a few nanoclicks. Hygus charged at her with the knife from his throat in hand, not noticing that she had brought her knees up to her chest. He slammed into her only to be kicked backwards. She smashed his hand with the knife on the floor repeatedly, making it numb and lose grip on the weapon. She picked up the knife and sawed at the transformation lock device on her ankle. It took a few cycles but finally came off.   
"Warning, escape in progress. All units report to stations." a bored computerized voice informed the guards and other inmates. Paraleasion went over to the window, jerked the bars out and attempted to crawl out. Hygus grabbed her ankle and pulled.   
"Primus, you are persistent." Paraleasion spat as she tumbled back into the room. Determined to escape, she took the knife, burying it in Hygus' chest and pulled it across, causing a gash that forced him to let go. Paraleasion scrambled out of the window as Hygus attempted to stop the rapid flow of mech-fluid from the wound. She slipped into   
the shadows and disappeared without a trace.   
"Open the door or we'll break it down." a guard yelled. When no one complied the door burst open and the guards swarmed into the cell. None of them made any attempt to help the Maximal prisoner as he slowly died. Hygus shuddered one last time and perished. One of the guards spat on the body while another kicked it.   
"Murdering bastard." one of them muttered.   
"Lets go. There's nothing for us to do now. The rest is up to the cleanup crews and the police." the lead guard said. 

> 

In the spaceport, two watchbots nodded at each other as they walk past one another, not noticing the dense patch in the nearby shadow. The area was nearly deserted at this time of night, the only ones around are the watchbots and the four legged   
companions that sniff the cargo for any illegal drugs. Unfortunately, these animals were not aggressive and would not rush into a foray to protect their handlers.   
_Clank._   
"Did you hear that Beum?" a green and yellow bot asked her partner, who was engrossed in a magazine.   
"Hear what?" the red and blue bot responded, looking up.   
"That noise." she asked.   
"The only thing I hear is you talking, Vena." Beum replied.   
"Whatever." Vena sighed, "But I'm pretty sure I heard something."   
"It's probably a rat or something." he said.   
"You're probably right but I'm going to see." she replied, disappearing around the corner of the guard station.   
"Women, they're so paranoid." Beum muttered, returning to his reading. 

Vena walked between the stacked metal crates, shining her light into the deepest shadows, looking for any sign of intruders. She spotted an old bot huddling between two crates, trying to avoid detection.   
"What are you doing here?" she asked.   
"I'm trying to get home." he answered. Vena eyed the transformer suspiciously but he looked harmless enough.   
"Where do you live?" she inquired.   
"I don't remember." he replied.   
"Okay, why don't you come with me and we'll get you home." she promised,   
holding her hand out to lead him away. He looked at the offered hand for a moment and shook his head. Vena sighed, and turned back the way she came, sure he would follow.   
"Where are we going?" he asked.   
"To the guard station so we can get you home." Vena responded.   
"Oh, okay." he said. She shook her head, pitying the old bot That was one thing she really didn't want to get when she got older was what humans called 'Alzheimer's disease.' This form gradually corroded the memory circuits until it claimed it's victim. There was no known cure because it had appeared just recently. Vena rounded the corner of the guard station and approached the seated form of her partner, who's back was to her.   
"Beum. Hey Beum." Vena said. She frowned.   
"What's wrong?" the old bot asked.   
"Stay here." she ordered, approaching her partner. "Beum?" She got close enough to grab the chair and turn it towards her. Beum's sightless eyes stared up at her, his face a mask of surprise and fear. A gaping hold that drips mech-fluid, shows where his spark once was. Vena gasped, hand moving to her weapon but never making it. A small matte black femme bot leaped out of the shadows, ripping the gun from it's holster and knocking Vena down. The bot slashed out at the watchwoman, creating shallow wounds. Vena was frozen in fear, helpless while the attacker killed her. They mysterious bot stood after cleaning the knife and putting the weapon away. She looked behind her and saw the old transformer. He teetered over to Beum, looking him over, then Vena and finally looked at the other bot.   
"Well, they're dead." he commented.   
"Yeah, I know." she replied.   
"Really. How?" he asked.   
"Easy. I killed them." she answered.   
"Oh, okay." he said, "Ya know, they're dead."   
"You already said that." she pointed out.   
"Really? I couldn't remember." he said.   
"Right. Well, I'll be going now." she said.   
"How am I supposed to get home? That lady bot said she'd help me get home." he stated. She blinked at him, considering what to do.   
"I'll call a cab for you." she offered, picking up the phone and dialing the number.   
"Cybertron Cab Service, how may I help you?" a femme voice asked from the other end of the phone line.   
"Uh, yes. I need someone to pick up an elderly bot down at the spaceport guard station." she said.   
"Okay, a cab will be there within the next megacycle to pick him up." the voice answered.   
"Thank you." she said, hanging up. "There, someone will be here to pick you up in a little while."   
"Such a nice girl. What is your name dear?" he asked.   
"Paraleasion." she answered, knowing she had better leave soon. When the cab driver would get there the only one to alive would be the old bot. He would get the blame for the two deaths and she would be long gone.   
"Thank you." he said.   
"You're welcome." she replied cheerfully, going to the tarmac. There she planned to steal a ship and track down those who had put her in jail. A small gray shuttle had caught her eye and she walked over to it cautiously. Nobody was around but she was still cautious. The door opened easily after she picked the lock. The inside was nice, not a luxury shuttle but not one that was falling apart either. She went inside, looking at the interior in awe, door hissing shut behind her. The short hallway led to the main control room, where she sat down and got the ship ready for flight.   
"This is _The Icarus_ requesting permission to enter the runway." Paraleasion said into the radio.   
"Runway clear, go ahead _Icarus_." the radio replied. She piloted the craft over to the entrance of the strip effortlessly.   
"_The Icarus_ requesting permission to takeoff." she said.   
"Permission granted." the radio replied. Paraleasion revved up the motors, speeding down the runway and lifting off. 


	2. Landing

DISCLAIMER: Hasbro Inc, and those aphiliated own the Beast Wars, not me.   
The plot and Paraleasion are mine. I am not making any profit.   


Chapter 2   
Landing 

Paraleasion flew through space going to her destination. She had to go through forbidden air space but she really didn't care. All she wanted was revenge. One cycle she was flying peacefully through space and the next a vortex opened up, sucking her in. The ride through was rough but soon she was out. Paraleasion frowned at the big, blue round   
planet that had suddenly appeared.   
"Warning, strong gravitational pull." the ships computer said. The ship started to go towards the planet slowly, then more rapidly. Paraleasion frantically tried to pull the ship back into orbit. Flames engulfed her vision as she sped downwards towards a large, green patch. 

> 

"Hey, Boss Monkey, we've got incoming." Rat Trap said, looking at the computer screen on the Ark.   
"Where is coming down?" Optimus asked. Rat Trap rattled off some coordinates.   
"You want a ground team?" he asked.   
"Yes, have Rhinox, Cheetor, and Depthcharge follow." he ordered, going out the blast doors. 

> 

Paraleasion snarled, looking at the broken ship, cursing herself for stealing a craft called _The Icarus_. True to it's name, it landed in a stream where it sputtered once and died. The flow of water had stopped, blocked by a wing, and was starting to trickle around the edges. She attempted to kick the ship, but was unable to. Annoyed Paraleasion looked at her reflection in a side panel. Her body had changed, she was now a black tiger with great ebony wings folded on her back.   
"Okay, what in the Pit happened?" she asked.   
"Why do you not tell us?" a voice snarled. Paraleasion looked around to find a strange looking guy bot, accompanied by another male bot.   
"Who are you?" Paraleasion asked, feeling vulnerable in her new animal form.   
"Dinobot." the first bot replied, "You are?"   
"Paraleasion." she said, "Who's that?" She motioned to the companion.   
"Inferno. The Royalty has ordered that we bring you back." the second bot said.   
"Right." she said, turning her attention back to Dinobot, "So, how do I get out of this form?"   
"Simple. Just say your name and the activation code." Dinobot said.   
"Paraleasion, devastate." she said.   
"The Queen will be pleased." Inferno said, eyeing Paraleasion. She was matte black, the wings folded onto her back, she had a lady-like figure, and wasn't much taller than Rat Trap. Her violet eyes took in her surrounding. The cat ears on top of her head twitch, honing in on the sound of jets.   
"Optimus." Dinobot said. Paraleasion whirled around, weapon in hand, and shot him. The energy charges cut the velociraptor in half, and mech-fluid sprayed everywhere.   
"For the Royalty!" Inferno yelled, wielding his flame-thrower.   
"You're gonna catch the forest on fire, idiot." Paraleasion shouted.   
"You must buuuurrrrnnnn, Maximal!" he said.   
"I'm no Maximal." she said.   
"Then you are food for the colony." he declared.   
"You're nuts." she stated, dropping her weapon to dodge a blast. The vegetation was scorched where she once stood. She barely dodged a second shot before something blew Inferno up. Pieces came raining down and Paraleasion ran for cover. Dinobot was slowly recovering, the damage was a lot for even his repair system to take care of.   
"Hey, wait." Optimus shouted after her. She ignored him and continued deeper into the woods, disappearing. He landed finding the scene of a small battle, and a ship. Intrigued, he walked up to the door, which had a large dent and the outside was blackened from fire. When he went to the front he was confronted with a shattered, brittle, and soot smudged windshield. Small puddles of mech-fluid lay on the ground, but that could have from Dinobot and not the new bot. When he peered inside he noticed a large dent in the control panel, and almost the whole interior was sooty. The control panel gave off sparks and Optimus wondered how someone could have survived the crash. Little did he know a winged black figure was watching him intently from a nearby tree. With narrowed green eyes it watched as three more bots came onto the scene. The ray, she noted, was one she would have to be careful of. He was very intent about his surroundings and he often glanced up at her. She knew he was checking his radar but she didn't give off a signal so she could not be tracked.   
"Whatcha keep lookin' at over there DC?" the small chestnut bot asked.   
"There is something about that creature that I cannot place." Depthcharge said. Cheetor looked up at Paraleasion, studying her.   
"You're right." he said, looking back at the others. There was the heavy sound of large wings beating and Paraleasion flew trough the canopy, into the open sky. She heard jets powering up and taking off. A large bot came crashing through after her and she sped up.   
"Wait." Optimus said. He came up even with her a few nanoclicks later.   
"Why? You seem to have caught up." she said, slowing down, forcing him to fall back even with her.   
"I'm Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximals. Who are you?" he said. When she didn't say anything he continued. "Would you like to join our ranks?" Shocked, Paraleasion stopped beating her wings for a few seconds, by the time she remembered to start again it was too late. She plummeted towards the ground, hitting branches until she finally crashed into the trunk of a very sturdy tree. She sat on the ground, willing the white spots in her vision to go away.   
"Ouch." she muttered. Optimus landed nearby, and came over to her. He was practically giant sized compared to her.   
"Are you okay?" he asked, worried about any further damage done besides the crash.   
"Yeah." she replied, shaking her head. She eyed Optimus warily, alarms going off in her head, warning her against him. He was too nice, and people like him almost always had an ulterior motive.   
"Are you sure?" he asked, "You could use time in the CR chamber."   
"I'm fine." she said, "I thank you for your invitation and concern. I cannot join your ranks."   
"Why?" he asked.   
"Some old ghosts have just come back and bit me in the skidplate." she said, "They need to be taken care of. How many are on your side?"   
"Six." he said, wondering why the sudden change of subject.   
"The Predacons?" she asked.   
"Seven." he replied, "Why?"   
"Just curious." she said, "We shall meet again, Optimus Primal." Paraleasion then bounded off into the dense forest. The ground team came up, Depthcharge at point.   
"Do you want us to follow her?" Depthcharge asked.   
"No. Let her go." Optimus said. 


	3. Insight

DISCLAIMER: Hasbro Inc., and those affiliated own the Beast Wars, not me.   
The plot and Paraleasion are mine. I am not making any profit.

**Chapter 3**   
**Insight**

"I have been considered a cold-blooded killer, a thief, and an assassin. It is true. I can kill without a thought but do not murder all that is good. Those that I have killed I did so to keep the balance between good and evil." Paraleasion thought, as she went back to the crash site, stripping the ship of everything that was needed. Mostly parts from the computer. As she hauled everything she contemplated her dilemma.   
She was created by the Maximal Elders and the Tripedicus Council to be the one to keep things in balance. The Tripedicus Council had plans of their own, such as taking over the galaxy, and expected her to side with them. On the other had, the Maximal Elders wanted her to side with them if a war between the two factions ever arose. She decided not to chose a side, and stuck to her original existence, neutral. As time wore on she got tired of the labs. Constantly being poked, prodded and the like, so she escaped. Aurora had found her in an alley near her shop, took her in, and raised her. She taught Paraleasion the basics of living in a rough area such as The Slums. Paraleasion had started to realize, that now free, she could fulfill her role as balance. She had started to kill those who were criminals, a threat to others. Those that would not be missed, or so she thought. They were missed and the style of killing was linked back to Paraleasion. Hygus, once her boyfriend, had given false testimony but still got her put in jail for life. Aurora had killed a couple of bots and framed Hygus. He got life also, and as a combined sentence, they got stuck in the same cell. They couldn't kill each other or do anything to harm one another, they had to be nice. It was hard to be nice to the guy that had put her in that place. Not too long after that, Aurora mysteriously died. In prison Paraleasion had plenty of time to think about what she had done, and didn't regret any of it.   
When Paraleasion escaped she did everything and anything to get away. Now, she regretted it. She killed two innocents and planted the blame on another. That was not a very Maximal thing to do. It was more of a Predacon thing to do. Since she was neither, it made hard to justify what she had done.   
Paraleasion knew that she was going deeper into the forest. That was what she had planned to do. What she didn't want to do was run into anyone. Now, all she needed was to be was alone, so that she could find a place to hold up and plan her next move. There were seven Predacons and six Maximals. Paraleasion needed to do something to equal the tide. Seven against six wasn't really fair and since she didn't know that much about either she had to gather information. Paraleasion sighed, looking around for a place to stay and found a nice cave next to a placid lake, surrounded by old growth trees. She smiled and went inside to investigate. Inside it was...dark, and dusty. A small stream ran through the middle, dividing it into two sections. The cavern got smaller and an opening barely large enough for her to get through was at the back. She crawled through the space, and entered a dimly lit area. Lichen grew on the walls, glowing, providing the faint light. It was perfect. Hard to find, easy to defend and oddly cozy. She especially liked the natural lighting. Paraleasion set up a jerry-rigged computer in one corner. In another was the collapsible recharging bed. Now that all of that all of that was done, she could do some information gathering. Which meant sneaking into bases, hacking into computers and doing it without getting caught or slagged. She grabbed a disk, shoved it into a subspace compartment and proceeded to the Predacon base. Well, at least attempted to. She finally had to "persuade" a strange looking bot that called himself Tarantulas for directions. So, in the right direction, she kept in beast mode to avoid suspicion. The Predacon base sat in a river of lava, which surprised her. Getting in wasn't too hard. Take out the buzzing idiot, creep through the ventilation system, and drop into the control room. Wordlessly Paraleasion transformed, took out the disk, and searched through the files. She found the ones she was after, including the profiles of the Maximals. Megatron, bless his evil little spark, had saved her a trip to the Maximal base. So, disk safely tucked away, she proceeded back up through the air shaft, passed the scrapped buzzing idiot, and back to her hideout.   
Paraleasion crawled through the small entrance, and went to the computer. She looked through the files and concluded that the Preds needed to lose one or two of their units. The unit that intrigued her most was the one called Rampage. For some reason she could not take her eyes off the hologram. Somehow she knew he was the one that had to be done away with. To do that she would need help and had a feeling that Depthcharge was her bot.


	4. Proposition

The Stalker of Shadow's Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: Hasbro Inc., and those affiliated own the Beast Wars, not me.   
The plot and Paraleasion are mine. I am not making any profit. 

**Chapter 4**   
**Proposition**

Depthcharge patrolled the seashore where he crashed. He heard the sound of beating winds and thought it was Silverbolt coming to take over his circuit but was very surprised to find Paraleasion, robot mode, standing in front of him.   
"You. What do you want?" Depthcharge asked, glaring at her.   
"Depthcharge, do you want to help me destroy Rampage?" Paraleasion asked, smiling at his suspicious look.   
"Why should I trust you?" he asked, "It could be a trap."   
"Why should I do you harm? It's Rampage I want to kill, not you." she said, "If I wanted to kill you I would have done it already and not try to lure you someplace, then kill you." He stood there and blinked, not used to a femme being that frank.   
"Okay. What do you have planned?" he asked, staring at her. She seemed familiar, yet he could not place her.   
"I've got everything we need for planning at my place." she said. He regarded her for a moment, then nodded.   
"I'll come with you." he said.   
"Okay," she said, reverting to beast mode, "Follow me." 

> 

Over the dense forest Depthcharge circled down after Paraleasion, careful to mimic her moves so he doesn't inadvertently crash. They land outside a cave and she goes in, Depthcharge following.   
"Cozy." Depthcharge said, looking around. Paraleasion shrugged, slithering through the opening, out of sight. She came back a few clicks later with a computer.   
"Now," she said, sitting down on the ground and getting comfortable, "Here we have Rampage. Mass murder, torturer, and psychotic. Supposedly he's immortal. In other words he lives longer and is harder to kill."   
"Really?" he mocks, she looked up at him and frowned.   
"Nothing lives forever." she stated.   
"You're serious." he said.   
"Yeah. Why shouldn't I be?" she said, looking back at the computer screen. "This is not a matter to be taken lightly. Tell me all you know about Rampage."   
"Uh, okay." Depthcharge said, trying to think where to start. 

>

Optimus looked at the computer, disturbed at the sudden Predacon activity at the crash site. There were three Preds around what he assumed was left of the ship, but the scanners were having trouble picking out the objects. The only things they seemed to be getting clearly were the Predacon signatures.   
"Whatcha lookin' at dere Boss Monkey?" Rat Trap asked, startling Optimus.   
"There is a large amount of Predacons at the crash. I don't know what they would want. When I went back the ship was stripped and completely useless." Optimus said.   
"Maybe dey're stripping the paneling off to repair their own ship." he suggests.   
"Perhaps, but I'd still like someone to check it out." he said, "Silverbolt and Depthcharge are closest, I'll have them go." 

> 

Inside the remains of The Icarus, Megatron searched for any clues of the person. Not to mention spare parts, those they needed, especially since some of their equipment had been fried during the quantum surge. He decided that they needed parts more than they needed another bot in their ranks. Preferably he wanted both but knew that it would not happen anytime in the near future. The only ones that were helping him sift through the wreckage were Waspinator and Quickstrike. Inferno and Dinobot were in the CR bath and Rampage was somewhere on that wretched mud ball. Megatron hit his fist against the wall in frustration, knocking some of the residue off and causing a secret drawer to pop out. Fascinated, he pulled it out farther and peered in. Inside lay various parts for computers, weapons, and many miscellaneous things that needed repaired on his ship. The only thing that was not there that he needed was a transwarp engine for his ship.   
"Waspinator, Quickstrike, get in here." Megatron bellowed. The two Predacon flunkies hightailed it in there, posting themselves before their leader. "Take these things back to base, and do be careful. If I find one thing broken, I'm going to break you. Understand?" The two gulp, nodding quickly. "Good. Now get these out of here." 

> 

When Depthcharge got done talking he felt empty and left Paraleasion's mind whirling with information.   
"Optimus to Depthcharge. Come in." his comm said, voice echoing in the cave.   
"Depthcharge here." he said.   
"You're to meet up with Silverbolt and investigate some unusual Pred activity at the crash site." Optimus said.   
"Okay, Depthcharge out." he said, cutting off the link.   
"What could they possibly fine? I stripped that sucker." Paraleasion said, looking up at the ray.   
"I don't know." Depthcharge said, "I'd better go."   
"Will you be back?" she asked.   
"Maybe." he said, "I'll radio ahead of time."   
"Okay. Have fun Pred bashing." she said as he went out. Paraleasion went back into her hideout, crawled upon the recharging bed and fell asleep. 

> 

Silverbolt circled above the canopy of the forest, waiting for Depthcharge. Everything seemed peaceful until a missile came out of nowhere and nearly knocked him from the sky. Kicking himself for not being alert, Silverbolt watched his surroundings   
more carefully. 

> 

Silverbolt and Depthcharge landed at the crash site. It wasn't very hard to miss because of the hole punched through the canopy.   
"Well, it appears there is no one here now." Silverbolt said, looking around.   
"Protoform X detected." Depthcharge's internal computer said.   
"You go on back to base. I've got a perimeter to finish patrolling." Depthcharge said.   
"All right. I shall see you later." Silverbolt said, taking off. Depthcharge looked around, trying to detect rampage. A missile came out of the brush, hitting the ship. Rampage emerged from the woods, missile launcher pointed at Depthcharge, who had a   
weapon pointed at the crab. Rampage shot again and Depthcharge returned fire. Both hit their target. They repeatedly exchanged fire but never got close enough to trade physical blows. Depthcharge, heavily damaged, was forced to retreat. Rampage was unharmed and savored his recent victory, but was also frustrated that he did not destroy his enemy. 

> 

Paraleasion was knocked off her feet by an unseen force. She had not been up long and was the only one in her lair. Somehow she was damaged and the most recent hit had sent her against the back of the cave. As suddenly as the assault started, it stopped. Slowly Paraleasion got her feet and went over to her computer, trying to find any nearby anomalies. None. She was alone, completely and utterly. Puzzled, she pondered what could have caused such a thing. She briefly considered going to the Maximals for repairs but immediately shot the idea down. She did not trust either faction at the moment because each considered her a potential recruit. If she chose to go to one of them to get repaired, that gave them the opportunity to mess with her circuitry. That she did not want so she stayed in her hideaway.   
"There isn't that much damage anyway." Paraleasion muttered. 


	5. Revelations

The Stalker of Shadow's Chaper 5

DISCLAIMER: Hasbro Inc., and those affiliated own the Beast Wars, not me.   
The plot and Paraleasion are mine. I am not making any profit.   
  


**Chapter 5**   
** Revelations**

Depthcharge had required several hours in the CR chamber and had recently came out. Optimus was upset that the ray had decided to send Silverbolt away and take on Rampage alone. Depthcharge, in response, shrugged and walked out on the Maximal leader. He had to go and vent some steam. He went to beast mode and took off, flying in a random direction. When he landed, he found himself on Paraleasion's "door step," if it could be called that. He went inside, and looked around but she wasn't anywhere in sight.   
"Hey, you there?" Depthcharge called, realizing he didn't know her name. There wasn't any answer, so he went in deeper. He noticed a crack at the back of the cave that glowed a faint light. He crouched down to look in, and saw a small lair but no one was in it.   
"What are you doing here?" an angry voice asked. Depthcharge whirled around, hitting his head against a low hanging rock. He was faced with an irritated Paraleasion.   
"I got done with the crash site a few cycles ago." he said.   
"Lie. I was just there, no one was anywhere near it." she said, "You came from the Maximal base."   
"But..." Depthcharge replied.   
"You were damaged by Rampage." she said. Startled, Paraleasion clamped her hand over her mouth. Why had she said that? She didn't know that was true or not. Maybe the beating had done more damage than she thought. Depthcharge stood,   
towering over her.   
"That does not matter. What does matter is that we kill Rampage." he said. She nodded, removing her hand, and sliding past him to reach into the gap. She came out with the same computer, and sat down.   
"Okay, do you have any ideas?" she asked.   
"Energon." Depthcharge said.   
"What about it?" she inquired.   
"It's the thing that can kill him." he said.   
"That's how Megatron cut Rampage's spark in half." Paraleasion said, "With an energon knife."   
"How did you know that?" Depthcharge asked, "Even I didn't know that."   
"If we can get something like an energon knife and drive it through his spark, then it would kill him." she said, avoiding the question. "Now, how could we accomplish that? It would have to be a trap or something similar. Where could we set it up?"   
"You're avoiding the question." he said.   
"Do you have any ideas?" she said, staring down at the computer screen.   
"Answer me." he said.   
"Look, how I get my information is my business not yours. Now, are you going to help because if not, get out." Paraleasion snarled. Depthcharge considered her words for a moment and then sat down next to her.   
"We could set up an ambush site at the seashore. One of us would have to be bait and the other would have to jump out and attack him." Depthcharge said.   
"Okay, do you have an exact place in mind?" she asked, "Because I have the tools we need."   
"Yes, I have a place in mind." he said.   
"Okay, I'll get the stuff and then we'll go." she said. Paraleasion squirmed through the opening, and came out a few cycles later. "Lead on McDuff." Depthcharge gave her a strange look and went out. 

> 

Silverbolt looked around for Depthcharge, he was supposed to be here to meet him. The Maximal sighed, and decided to wait for a little while longer. This wasn't the first time that the ray had been late. 

> 

Depthcharge and Paraleasion landed on a remote beach, and got everything ready. They decided that Paraleasion should be the decoy and Depthcharge would be the ambusher. When everything was ready they waited. Paraleasion lay on the shore, acting unconscious and Depthcharge hid behind a rock, energon knife in hand. They did not have to wait long before Rampage rolled upon the beach and transformed. He went over to the still form of Paraleasion. Depthcharge jumped out behind him, stabbing him in the back. Rampage whirled around facing his attacker, and knocked him across the beach. He approached Depthcharge, grinning, and reached down, picking him up. Depthcharge thrust the knife into Rampage's chest, missing the spark. He repeatedly slashed the crab but the wounds disappeared instantaneously.   
"Depthcharge, stop." Paraleasion yelled. He ignored her, caught up in the task of trying to kill Rampage. Frustrated, Depthcharge started to go for Rampage's hands but he was dropped. Rampage collapsed to the sand, clutching his chest in pain. Depthcharge looked past him, to Paraleasion, who was squeezing her spark.   
"What are you doing?" Depthcharge demanded. She opened her mouth but before she could say anything, collapsed. Rampage, who has never felt fear before, did. The small femme could control him, and while the two were distracted he crept back into the sea. Depthcharge picked Paraleasion up, smearing his torso plate with mech-fluid. He did   
not know how she had gotten damaged. He stared down into those distant violet eyes.   
"What are you?" he asked.   
"The balance." she said, eyes dimming as she went into stasis lock. 

> 

Back at the Maximal base, Depthcharge paced across the deck of The Ark for the umpteenth time.   
"Hey, Captain Minnow, will ya stop doin' dat. It's makin' me nervous." Rat Trap said. Depthcharge stopped for a nanoclick, gave the rat a considering look and started up again.   
"That really isn't going to help." Rhinox commented.   
"You remind me of an anxious soon-to-be father." Black Arachnia said. Depthcharge stopped long enough to glare at her and she only smiled. He paced for many megacycles, waiting, thinking. She was so familiar, yet he could not place her anywhere. He wracked his core processor, forcing himself to go back. Then he remembered. The escapee from the labs, Aurora, the deaths. Paraleasion, the control. Almost as if on cue, she stepped out of the CR chamber, looking around in wonder.   
"Where am I?" she asked.   
"The Maximal base." Depthcharge said.   
"How?" she asked, "Why?"   
"You were badly damaged in a confrontation with Rampage. Depthcharge found you and brought you here." Optimus said. Paraleasion opened her mouth to protest but Depthcharge gave her a warning look.   
"Oh." she said. Optimus looked down at her scrutinizingly.   
"I know who you are and what you've done, Paraleasion. If you decide to join our ranks, I'm willing to ignore your past." he said.   
"If I don't?" she asked.   
"We will be forced to put you in confinement until we can get back to Cybertron, where you will be turned over to the proper authorities." Optimus said. Paraleasion grinned, thinking that Optimus must have been dying to say that for a long time. He frowned at her reaction, taking it the wrong way, which made her smile even bigger. If it got anymore wider, her head would split in half.   
"No," Depthcharge said, "If we lock her up, we lose a tool." The statement wipes the faces clean of everyone in the room.   
"What?" Optimus asked, looking at the ray-bot. Paraleasion just blinked at him.   
"You don't know anything except for the lies recorded." he said, "She is the one that is the balance of Rampage. Both were created at the same time but their purposes different. His was to destroy, hers was to control. She escaped from the labs, and when they found her, they put her in jail. She didn't kill anyone, that was just an excuse."   
"Then why do I remember it?" she asked, calmly, thinking that Depthcharge had finally flipped his lid.   
"False memories. I was there when they programmed them." he said.   
"Aurora, Hygus?" she asked.   
"Aurora was fabricated. Hygus was already in the cell when you arrived." he said.   
"Why?" she asked.   
"To make a better soldier, one they could control." he said. Paraleasion sat down, bewildered.   
"What is to say that I'm not living in a lie?" she though, "Or maybe I'm the lie."   
"Woah, woah, woah, wait a cycle here. You're sayin' she didn't do all dat stuff?" Rat Trap asked.   
"Exactly." Depthcharge said.   
"Wait," she said, standing suddenly, "What about when I escaped from prison? Three, maybe four other did die. What then? Is that a lie too?"   
"No. They had though there was no way to escape. It had the best security there. Nobody had ever escaped from there before." he said. She shook her head again, refusing to accept all that has been said. A predatory look entered her eyes as she looked at the assembled Maximals, her gaze finally resting on Optimus.   
"What are you going to do?" she asked, voice cold and hard.   
"Well, the offer still stands." Optimus said. She gave him a considering look.   
"All of it?" she asked.   
"Yes." he said.   
"That's blackmail." she said, narrowing her eyes, "I can't."   
"Then you leave me no choice." he said, taking hold of her arm.   
"No. You leave me no choice." she said. She jerked her arm out of his grasp and bolted. She dodged between everyone and pounded on the blast doors. The Maximals closed in around her and she faced them, back pressed against the entrance. Her face had a terrified look, almost like a child that had found out the monster under the bed was real and it had friends over. Her chest heaved, her eyes were wild, and then the cold, calculating part of her mind took over. She calmed down, and contemplated her situation. There were seven of them and only one of her. No problem. She smiled and let the missing part of her conscious show, making her face cold.   
"Give up Paraleasion, there's no way out." Optimus said. She laughed, once an innocent sound that had been shattered and turned brittle over the years of hard times.   
"Oh, but there is." she said. He frowned, thinking of no other way out. The blast doors were locked, there was no way up or down and they surrounded her.   
"Through you." she said, kicking Silverbolt in the knee, dislocating it, making him howl in pain. Black Arachnia attacked and with cat fast reflexes the tiger fuzor snapped the black widow's neck. Silverbolt was unsure how to act, he had been attacked but by a female. Paraleasion took the chance, backhanded him and he slid to the floor unconscious. Two down five to go. She dodged past Optimal Optimus's hand, over Rhinox and knocked Cheetor backwards.   
"After her!" Optimus yelled, as Paraleasion ran though the hallway and took random corners. The others, she could tell, were not too far behind. Someone was guiding them through the corridors via surveillance system. Her credits were on the rat. She had to take him out to get away and possibly the others too. Paraleasion rounded another corner, running straight into Rhinox. She backpedaled into Cheetor, and Optimus was at her side. They closed in around her and she felt cornered, trapped.   
"Slag." she said, desperately looking for a way out. She tried to duck past Cheetor, but he grabbed her.   
"There is no way to escape." Optimus said. They escorted her down to the containment area where they placed her in a cell almost identical to the lab. The doors hissed shut and she threw herself against them, clawing.   
"No, not again!" she screamed. 


	6. Control

Chapter 6  
Control 

Silverbolt slipped a tray of energon under the door and Paraleasion took it gratefully.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"What?" he asked, not hearing her.

"Thank you," she said louder.

"You are welcome." he replied. Paraleasion had been there only few days and so far each day she grew more distant. Her pride and civility had left, leaving a skittish, cautious creature in its wake. Silverbolt watched as she inhaled her meal, thinking it sad that she was linked to a creature such as Rampage. She slipped the empty tray back through the door and sat upon the bed. He watched as she stared at the wall, her dangling feet kicking into the air. She occasionally glanced over at him and then back at the wall.

"What are you staring at?" Paraleasion asked. Her voice was bored and world weary.

"I am standing guard." Silverbolt replied. She turned half-opened violet eyes toward him.

"Do you have to stare? It's rude." she said. Her gaze was distant and distracted.

"I am supposed to be standing guard." he said.

"Whatever," she said, turning back to the wall.

The Predacon base was peaceful. Okay, as peaceful as it could get with all that lava, flunky bashing, etc. Rampage was plotting the destruction of Megatron and TM2 Dinobot so he could get the other half of his spark. In the middle of his scheming he felt strange, as though somebody else was in the room with him. He quickly glanced around, saw no one and dismissed the thought but the feeling soon returned.

"It's just my imagination." Rampage muttered. He left the Predacon base, thinking that the sensation would leave him.

Rattrap sat at the surveillance monitors, asleep again. Dreams of radium, girls, and Cybertron danced through his circuits.

"Rattrap, wake up. If Optimus finds you sleeping again, he'll kick your skidplate," Cheetor said, shaking Rattrap. He sat up, blinking rapidly.

"What?" he asked, "Why'd ya wake me up? I was havin' the best dream."

"Would you rather it be Optimus?" Cheetor asked.

"Uh, no. I wanna stay in one functioning piece," Rattrap replied, turning to the screens.

"I better go relieve Silverbolt." he said.

"Have fun kid." Rattrap said.

"Yeah, right." Cheetor replied sarcastically.  
  


Megatron sat in his throne room, extremely pleased with himself and the unfolding events. The repairs on the ship were coming along beautifully. His ship and the spare parts from 

The Icarus were a perfect match. Weapons were almost fully restored to maximum capacity. Soon they would be ready to destroy The Ark and the inhabitants, but there was still the problem of the Decepticons being on the ship.

Paraleasion lay on the bed, eyes closed, occasionally twitching. Which Silverbolt found odd but concluded that she was only dreaming.

Paraleasion looked at the world through Rampage's eyes. She was careful to be inside him only enough to control him. If she merged with him completely, he could trap and/or kill her without going near her physically. Also, she had no desire to go insane because if her core conscious touched his, it would be over. Her mind would shatter and he would be on the lose again with no way to curb his violent tendencies. Somedays she hated her ability, but this was not one of them. She could use Rampage to escape from the Maximals but not now. First she needed to get used to controlling Rampage's body again.

"Rampage, what do you think you're doing? Get back to base immediately," Megatron's voice ordered over the comm. Paraleasion released her other half, allowing him to do as his 'Master' bid.

Paraleasion woke to find Cheetor standing guard in front of the door.

"Where did Silverbolt go?" she asked.

"I didn't ask," Cheetor replied coldly.

"You're Cheetor, right?"

"Yeah." She nodded, studying the ceiling. A thumping coming down the hallway and Optimus appeared.

"Rampage where have you been?" Megatron demanded.

"Why should I tell you?" Rampage replied. Megatron had Dinobot squeeze his spark, and Rampage fell to his knees in agony. "All right. I was here the whole time."

"I would think not. You were up to something, and I want to know what." Rampage merely looked at Megatron not answering.

"You know, Optimus, this is called jeopardy. If you take me back, they can't try me for the same crime. I haven't done anything except exist." Paraleasion said. She rubbed her chest, trying to fight the increasing pain. "If you trust Depthcharge...or even better yet, Blackarachnia, why not trust me? She was originally a Predacon. The only reason you decided to keep me in here is because I have ties to a homicidal maniac. Hers was a willingness to stay, mine was not."

Optimus was silent for a long time after that. Paraleasion sat on the edge of the bed, kicking her feet. The ache was gone.

"Maybe you're right. I trust what Depthcharge said, but what about those two you killed?" Optimus asked.

"Three. The first was already sentenced to death. I did him a favor. The second and third was in self defense. They tried to murder me."

"Hmm. I'll talk to the others and then I will decide whether or not it's safe for us to release you."

"Fair enough."

"What do ya mean you're considerin' lettin' her go? She'd kill us all!" Rattrap exclaimed. Optimus looked around calmly at the assembled Maximals.

"She has posed no other threat. She could have used her link with Rampage to escape, but has not." Optimus said.

"Are your circuits crossed? Don't you remember when she scrapped Silverbolt and Blackarachnia, then tried to scrap us?"

"If she is on our side, we have a powerful tool Rattrap. Think about that."

"And if she's in Predacon hands, we're slag."

"I think that if we give her a chance, she'll change."

"That's da problem wit you Optimus, you think everyone will change."

"I'm gonna let her go. If anyone else has a problem with that then take it up with me."

Paraleasion paced the length of her cell, only able to take three or four steps before turning around. She heard the familiar sound of feet coming down the hallway and stopped. Optimus stood at the door, peering in the window at her. She looked up at him, her face hopeful.

"You can come out now." he said. The door unlocked with a click and slid into the wall.

"Really?" she asked, her voice eager.

"Yes." Paraleasion bounded out the door and into the corridor. She raised her arms and spun around in a circle.

"Free! Free at last!"


	7. Ingress

Chapter 7  
Ingress

The small starhopper skipped across the water in the frigid ocean, coming to a smooth stop. A beam of light came up, scanning all the local life forms, when done, the light disappeared. The hatch door opened and a penguin emerged. The chunky flightless bird surveyed its territory.

"Stalker, nix." it said. The body of the penguin folded away, the hide covering the new transformer. He was medium height, black, white, and yellow, and his eyes blazed red. He was here on a very special mission. Seek and destroy. But first he had to determine whether or not they were on this planet. Stalker went over to his ship, pulled it up onto the ice and hid it from view. He took out various pieces of equipment placed them in subspace compartments, and sat down to wait. He knew that with the two factions he had scanned, his arrival would not go unnoticed.

"Well, what do we have here?" Black Arachnia mused, watching the screen. "A fully functional ship and a new transformer inside of it. Hmm, interesting."

"What is, my love?" Silverbolt asked.

"A new ship." she said, " A small one, starhopper probably, and a new transformer. Isn't it strange how a new ship lands here not even two weeks after Paraleasion crashed?"

"It is." he said, "Maybe it's an associate of hers?"

"What are you two talking about?" Optimus asked.

"Another ship landed. At the South Pole." Black Arachnia said.

"The rescue shuttle?" he asked.

"No, too small." she replied, "There's also a new transformer."

"Okay, I'll go up. As soon as I leave, turn the bases defenses on, and stay alert." Optimus said.

Paraleasion was bored so she had snuck into the Predacons base, which was too easy, and decided to spy on them a little. She peered over Megatron's shoulder at a screen from an air vent. On it was a map of the southern region, an obscure figure on it that she could not see. Whatever it was, it seemed to make Megatron extremely upset.

"Inferno, Waspinator!" he yelled. The two flunkies came quickly as not to upset their boss.

"Yes Royalty." Inferno saluted.

"I want you two to either convert or destroy the new Maximal. He's at these coordinates." he said, reading them off, "Now go." 

"Yes my Queen." Inferno said.

"Inferno," Megatron moaned, "Don't call me that." The two left and Megatron went off to take an oil bath with his rubber ducky. That left Dinobot and Paraleasion alone. The transmetal two raptor was oblivious to her presence. She studied the screen with keen violet eyes. The absence of Megatron's large purple mass enabled her to identify who the new transformer was.

"Stalker." she whispered. Her old enemy had returned.

"Yo, Scrape Ape." Rat Trap said from over the comm-link.

"What is it Rat Trap?" Optimus sighed.

"Two of Megatron's goons are headed in your general direction." he said.

"Okay. How far away?" he asked.

"A few clicks away." he replied.

"Okay. I'll keep an eye out." Optimus said, "Optimus out." It didn't take him long to find the new bot. The black against the white of the ice was almost easy to pick out. Optimus was landing, looking at Stalker, who sat unmoving on the ice. His head was bowed, eyes closed, and black arms crossed across his white chest. Once landed, the Maximal leader went over to the new arrival who had not moved at all. Optimus reached down to shake Stalker's shoulder but was batted away and the other bot was on his knees, gun pointed at Optimus' chest. The sudden movement left Optimus' head spinning and reminded him of the quickness of the small femme criminal.

"Who are you?" Stalker demanded in a Southern drawl.

"Optimal Optimus Primal, Maximal leader." he said.

"Long name," he said, backing off. He replaced his gun in a "holster" on his leg, an identical gun was in the same place on the other leg. Optimus studied the other transformer. Stalker was medium sized, almost the size of Silverbolt. He was black and white, mostly white in front and black on the back, probably due to his choice of beast mode. A yellow plume of feathers came up from his forehead and swept backwards, making an elaborate decoration. Quick red eyes took in the scenery, and the light yellow mouth was in a subtle smirk.

"You are?" Optimus asked. The other bot looked up at him, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Stalker." he replied, "A Maximal."

"Would you be willing to...." he started.

"Yes." Stalker interrupted. Optimus looked down at Stalker, slightly peeved at the other bot's haughtiness but somewhat relieved they had a new addition to their ranks. Stalker made a motion for Optimus to lead the way to base. The Maximal leader sighed and wondered how long it would take before Rat Trap decided to pick on Stalker as a replacement for Dinobot.

Paraleasion had successfully snuck out of Predacon base and was on her way back into the woods. A missile from the shrubbery made an indentation in the ground and stopped her in her tracks. 

"What do you want Rampage?" Paraleasion asked. The Predacon crab laughed, the bushes parted and he emerged from his hiding spot. She held up her hand and didn't wait for a response. "I know."

"You do?" Rampage asked. He glared at her. "How do you all of a sudden know everything I am and do?"

"I just do." 

"It goes deeper than that Paraleasion." 

"I know it does." She didn't look at him at all, instead staring into the forest. "He's here."

"Who? Depthcharge? I knew that."

"No. Him. Stalker."

"What are you talking about?."

"He's here. He's a member of the Maximal ranks."

"How do you know that?"

"He has ways of only having who he wants find him. He wanted the Maximals to find him, so they did."

"What does that mean?" he asked.

"You don't remember Stalker do you?" she asked, finally facing him. Her face was sad and thoughtful at the same time.

"No."

"Then you have much to learn about our enemy."

"I do not have to learn anything about him. Just kill him."

"No, you don't understand. Stalker doesn't work that way. You can't just outright kill him like any other bot. He's different."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Because I know him, in more ways than you'll ever know."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Anything you want."

"That isn't what I'm here for."

"Then what are you here for?"

"The All Knowing Paraleasion doesn't know?"

"Look, I'm just too tired to expend the energy so just slagging tell me." Each word closer to a shout than the last.

"Testy, aren't we?" She glared at him and he shrugged. "Fine. I want to know what you've done to me."

"Huh? Explain."

"Why can you suddenly take over my body and use it?"

"It's something that we were built for."

"'We'?"

"We were created together. I've got a small portion of your spark graphed into mine. It gives me the ability to control you. If you get hurt, it reflects on me. If I get hurt, it reflects on you."

"So if you die, I die? If I die, you die?"

"I guess so. I haven't exactly figured that part out yet."

"Stay out of me. Any way and every way."

"Or what? You'll kill me?"

"Uh." She shook her head, hands on her hips like a disapproving mother.

"Until you figure that part out, don't threaten me." She reverted to beast mode and ran off into the woods.

"Come on Optimus." Rhinox said, "Everything we know about her is here say."

"I don't know." Optimus replied.

"It will be good for morale. Anyways, I know for a fact she did that type of work before going to jail."

"What about Depthcharge and Stalker. They'll try to kill her. Anyways, how do you know she did do that before jail?"

"Rat Trap. It was his suggestion."

"Trust him to know something like that." Optimus sighed, "Fine, if you can convince her to come, I'll let her have a free pass. Just this once though."

"Okay." Rhinox replied.

Stalker's circuits were frying because he could not find any trace of them. He had inadvertently found Depthcharge, whom he hated because the ray had failed to protect his family on Omicron. Optimus had decreed that the two had to be civil to each other, so Stalker could not kill the Failure. If he could only find the Control and the Device, then his life would be so much easier. Somehow the two had kept their presence from him. They probably didn't even know he was there but he kept searching.

Paraleasion was back in her lair, reading a book with lighting provided by the lichen when she heard her computer beeping. She sighed, curious who would want to contact her of all bots. She placed her book on the recharging table and went over to the computer, pushing a large button.

"Yeah?" Paraleasion asked. The face of Rhinox appeared over her screen and she was vastly surprised.

"Paraleasion?" he asked.

"What do you want?" 

"I have a favor to ask of you."

"What kind of favor?"

"Would you be willing to come to The Ark and help me with something?"

"What?"

"Some entertainment."

"Entertainment of what sort? If you're talking about the kind from the street corner of Cybertron other pay for, forget it. I don't interface for credits anymore."

"No. It's something different."

"Okay, and what about the others."

"Optimus is willing to give you a free pass for this."

"Okay, I'm listening." she replied, leaning forward.


	8. Shadowdancer

Author's Note: Yes, I'm well aware it's been a while, but real life decided to bite me hard. So, my apologies for that.

  
  


Chapter 8  
Shadowdancer

Stalker was practically growling in frustration. That is, if penguins could growl, it was more of a cross between a caw and a honk. It sounded more like cownk! Cheetor laughed softly as the new Maximal tried to learn how to run The Ark. Now the cocky bot was reduced to humility and his selection of Cybertronian curses. It wasn't as bad as it sounded actually because the harder concepts came easier as soon as he understood the smaller ones.

"Think you can do that?" Cheetor asked.

"I know I can." Stalker scoffed.

"Okay," he replied, unbelieving.

"I haven't done that in years." Paraleasion protested.

"Can you do it?" Rhinox asked.

"Yeah, I think so." she replied, "Why is this so important anyway?"

Paraleasion sighed as soon as the screen went blank. This was one of the last things she ever expected to happen. In the middle of a war someone had actually asked her to come and perform. Supposedly it would boost morale. She hardly believed that, but she was going to humor them anyway. Might as well, she had nothing else to do at the moment.

Paraleasion dug through her stuff, her thoughts meandering. Then she realized that the Predacons had never really approached her. Actually, the only contacts was between Rampage, Dinobot, Inferno, and Waspinator. Sneaking into their base didn't really count as direct contact. Grabbing a sword, dagger and their sheathes, she idly wondered what the Predacons had to offer. Maybe she would pay them a visit after her show, or maybe before.

Paraleasion found the back door to The Ark fairly easily. It was made for smaller bots, and she fit through it without any problem. At the back she found it was hardly guarded at all. This might give her an opportunity later if she ever needed to get in or out secretly. The big green bot had met her like he said, and led her down a corridor.

"Are you sure this is safe?" she asked, uneasily. She wasn't worried about any damage going to her because it would go to Rampage. She was worried about being put back into a containment cell again. If she went back, she would go crazy.

"Fairly." he replied. Paraleasion wasn't completely satisfied but knew what to do. She shifted her wings to a more comfortable position and decided that was the best answer she was going to get. They stopped in a room set up with chairs, and enough room for her to do her act. Paraleasion calmed herself and placed the two ancient weapons on her body. The sword went down her back and the dagger on her thigh. Rhinox was careful not to leave her alone, but gave her the privacy she needed to get ready. She stretched, warming up and tried a few leaps into the air. She went over parts of her routine before shakily turning to the Maximal.

"I'm ready." she said.

Rat Trap was the last one to take his seat in the room. Optimus sat in the back and the door at the side was cracked open. Silverbolt and Black Arachnia sat next to one another, clutching hands and looking about.

"So what's the deal Banana Boy?" Rat Trap asked.

"I'll have Rhinox answer that." Optimus said. Everyone in the room shifted in their seats to get a better look at the rhino.

"It's some entertainment." Rhinox said.

"What sort of...entertainment?" Silverbolt asked.

"It's clean, I can assure you that." he replied. The fuzor relaxed.

"Is it a movie?" Stalker asked.

"No, it's live." he said. He held up his hand to ward off anymore questions and the door opened on cue. Everyone turned to the opened entryway which held the silhouette of a small femme.

"Just don't attack the entertainer," a seductive voice purred. Paraleasion stepped out, or at least they thought it was Paraleasion. She had painted herself white, blue, brown, and gray with black peeking through in some places. Depthcharge stared at the femme, she was almost unrecognizable except for the wings and violet eyes. Her walk promised dark dreams and more. She smiled secretly and drew the dagger, doing simple tricks with it such as twirling and throwing. The sword was the next to appear, doing the same maneuvers as it's smaller cousin. She turned the tricks into a graceful dance of weapons, adding her body as a third. The dance was slightly erotic, but nowhere near a striptease. The shadows seemed to come alive, dancing with her. She went faster and faster until it grew to a feverish pitch, then, suddenly the darkness overcame her. The shadows abruptly returned to their respective corners, revealing that the performer was gone. The Maximals sat in an impressed stupor. Rat Trap laughed at the others reaction, he knew what to expect because he had seen that particular show. Although it was on a stage, and he had thought it was mere illusion. Apparently it wasn't.

"Where did she go?" Cheetor finally asked. Paraleasion slowly appeared from a corner shadow, sheathed her weapons, and walked out the door, throwing her audience a suggestive glance over her shoulder.

"That was...interesting." Optimus said after shaking off the hypnotic effect of the dance.

"Protoform X detected." Depthcharge's internal computer beeped silently. The ray looked around and saw glowing green eyes in the darkness of the other room.

"Predacons." Depthcharge said.

"What?" Silverbolt asked.

"Preds. In the next room." he repeated. Megatron stepped through the door, looking very pleased. He was flanked by Dinobot, Rampage, Inferno, and Quickstrike.

"How did you get in Megatron?" Optimus demanded.

"With a little help of course." Megatron responded.

"Paraleasion." he growled, "I thought I told you not to leave her alone."

"I was with her the whole time." Rhinox protested.

"Oh, it wasn't her." Megatron said, motioning. Dinobot jerked Paraleasion out of the darkness, smiling widely as he raked a claw across her body. Rampage glared at Dinobot as a small scratch appeared on his torsoplate, along with thin line of mech-fluid but it was gone almost immediately as it appeared.

"It was someone in your own ranks." Megatron gloated. His eyes studied each Maximal, lingering on Black Arachnia and Stalker.

"Black Arachnia?" Silverbolt asked, "Did you...?"

"No. I wouldn't work for grape-face and you know that." she replied.

"It's true lover-boy." Stalker drawled, "It wasn't her, it was me."

"Stalker," Cheetor asked, "How could you?"

"Easy." the penguin said, standing. He went over to the captive neutral and grabbed her face, forcing her to look up at him. "He offered me her. You see, she is a very important device. She doesn't really have a right to live. Her existence is only to serve, that is all." He released her to face his former comrades. "That was one thing that you couldn't give me." Paraleasion went limp in Dinobot's grip and he simply dropped her. Stalker, hearing the thump, whirled around and started beating on Rampage.

"What?" Rampage asked, surprised. Paraleasion's body jerked with each blow.

"Get out of him! Get out or I'll kill you both!" Stalker shouted, each word punctuated with another hit. "Get out now!" Even though smaller than Rampage, Stalker still had a lot of force behind his attacks, he caused the larger bot to stagger backwards. Each strike left indentations in the femme's body.

"I'm out." Paraleasion groaned. Mech fluid dribbled from the corner of her mouth but stood anyway, refusing to show any weakness before her enemy. The abuse had caused the paint to fleck from her body, revealing the primer, which was an ugly brown. Stalker had stopped his assault, afraid of retaliation from Rampage but soon he would have nothing to worry about because the Control would be under his command.

"Nobody controls me." Rampage muttered.

"This is a crazy idea Megatron." Optimus said.

"Really? What gave you that idea?" Megatron asked.

"Some of your troops are already insubordinative, that would only add a few more." he said.

"Oh, I think not. I'm going to have her reprogrammed as a loyal Predacon." he said.

"There is such a thing?" Paraleasion muttered. In response Megatron backhanded Rampage in the face, which sent her reeling back into Dinobot's torsoplate.

"I'm wasting my time here." Megatron said, "Don't try anything Maximals, or we scrap a few of you. Such as Pussycat, or maybe the Traitorous Wretch." The Predacons took their captive and themselves out of the Maximal base, no doubt led by Stalker.

"Big Bot, we have to do something." Cheetor said.

"I'm with the kid. If the Preds get her reprogrammed, they'll be unstoppable." Rat Trap said, "With Stalker and Paraleasion on their side, we're outnumbered."

"I agree that something should be done about the sudden power shift but what do you suggest we do?" Optimus said.

"Megatron will sacrifice his troops but he won't chance losing the two." Depthcharge said, "We can't kill Rampage, Dinobot or Paraleasion without harming one of the other two. But we could stand the Predacons losing three of it's main soldiers."

"One of them isn't there by choice." Silverbolt said.

"Make that two," Rat Trap said, "Ol' Megs just brought him back from a protoform. Remember?"

"Then what do we do?" Cheetor asked.

"I've been looking for you for a long time." Stalker said.

"Yeah, so?" Paraleasion asked, "What's your point?" she paused, "There has to be a point, right?"

"No, not always." he said.

"Great, that means I get to listen to you babble." she muttered. He slapped her and Rampage's head snapped back. The crab glowered at the penguin but didn't do anything. If he did, Stalker would beat up on Paraleasion, which would hurt him. The whole concept of the two being linked in any way made his head ache, and was one of the causes of his frustration.

"Stalker." Megatron barked. The traitor jumped and ran up to his leader.

"Yes." Stalker replied.

"Remember what we discussed?"

"Yeah."

"She is to be loyal to me. Not anyone else. Understand?"

"Of course."


	9. Changes

Chapter 9  
Changes

"Well, well. If it isn't my old charge." Stalker said, "Ready to serve your new master?" Paraleasion glowered up at Stalker, the restraints keeping her from attacking.

"Lead me not into temptation," she said, her face sober.

"Why not?"

"I can find the way myself." Stalker gawked at the small femme. This wasn't the Paraleasion he remembered. The Paraleasion he once knew never cracked joke. He had to remind himself that there would be no name for her when he was done. She would have no purpose except to serve him.

Rampage paced, trying to think. Soon he would be a mindless creature if Stalker and Megatron had their way. Though the only one he would be serving would be Stalker. He had to do something, anything to stop the psycho penguin. Paraleasion as strong, but not strong enough to resist the change. Rampage had to find a way to make the two of them stronger...and fast or else he would have no choice at all.

A trio of screams echoed through the Predacon base. Stalker drew back from Paraleasion, reaching for another tool.

Dinobot was peacefully watching the monitors when a large arm pinned him to its owner's chest. He struggled but could not get free. Another hand came out, reaching for his spark container. The protective plating was peeled back easily. Dinobot watched with dimming eyes as Rampage took an energon knife to it and started to cut it in half.

Rampage felt the full effect of the pain when he cut into the spark. He steeled himself. He was immortal, what was a little pain now and then to spice up eternity? He had considered just taking it for himself but that would only delay the inevitable. Stalker would use Paraleasion to punish him and the purpose would be lost. He had also considered taking back bits of his spark from hers. He would have a harder time extracting the parts from hers. Then why was he giving her half? Why not kill her and add hers to his? No, it would not work because she could potentially take over his body. Was there no way he could get rid of her?

Paraleasion closed her eyes, ignoring the blinding pain that she felt. Stalker had tried to force her to control Rampage. The minute she felt in his mind what he had planned, she refused and Rampage had rejected her. Stalker had left her alone for a few cycles. He had forgotten a programming device, so she had a few minutes in peace. She heard the door slide open and opened her eyes, expecting to see Stalker. Instead Rampage was there, holding a pulsing blue ball. He came over by her and knelt down.

"How ya holding up?" Paraleasion asked.

"Fine." Rampage replied, "Show me your spark." She looked up at him half afraid, half resigned to the fact that he could very well kill her. "Open your spark box." Her midsection gave way and a spark pulsed. He placed his next to hers. It was greedily snapped up, the two becoming one. Her abdomen closed. He stood, giving her room for what he knew would happen.

Paraleasion's body jerked and she moaned. Her body became more defined as though she wore perfect, custom fit plate mail. The emblem of a purple crab, pinchers raised and holding a symbol of death appeared on her torso plate, announcing to the world who she was attached to. A similar design appeared on Rampage ´s torso plate, but instead of a crab there was a black cat whose wings held up the symbol.

Stalker walked past the control room and saw Dinobot lying on the floor, lifeless. That was when he realized his mistake. Stalker sprinted to the room where he had left the fuzor femme, thinking he might beat the crab to her. The door slid open and he found that he was too late. They were gone. The shackles lay on the floor and something was marked on the wall where Paraleasion had been. The number two. He wondered who had number one, and was grateful that they had given him time enough to live for even a few cycles longer.

Megatron would not be happy with Stalker at all. He had failed, and that would most undoubtedly get him scrapping rights. Maybe his best alternative was to just disappear. Leave and rejoin the Maximals, though that would be unlikely. Why would they trust him? He had betrayed them before. His options were slim and time was going to be against him soon. That is, if they weren't already after him.

Megatron was alone in the control room. He stood near the disassembled body of Dinobot. Whomever had taken apart Dinobot had carefully placed the spark casing on the control panel, showing that it was empty. Megatron shuddered, if Rampage had done this then Megatron was in serious trouble. The base was eerily quiet. Inferno and Quickstrike were off on a scouting mission. Waspinator was more than likely in the CR chamber. Stalker was with Paraleasion and Dinobot was scrap. Megatron was alert, every noise filtered through his audio system. Every bump, creak or groan a potential footstep.

"Megatron to all units. Return to base immediately." he ordered.

"They won't be able to help you." a voice warned. He whirled around, coming face to face with Stalker. "They've set out to kill you first because you kept him submissive for so long."

"Who?"

"Why, Rampage and Paraleasion of course."

"Are you really so stupid as to not read the writing on the wall?" Paraleasion purred. She lounged very catlike on a beam overhead. She looked over at Stalker, gaze steady and bored. "Though you must have ignored it, silly creature."

"Maybe he didn't understand it," Rampage said, laying a hand on Stalker's shoulder.

"You're right." She turned her attention to Megatron. "Now, Megatron, I'm giving you several choices. Either let us have Stalker or we scrap you instead." The Predacon tyrant looked from Rampage to Paraleasion. The crab was eager while the fuzor was calm.

"Him. Take him." Megatron said. Already he was devising a plan to rid of the pair. Paraleasion hopped down, smiling.

"Good choice. Now, see this?" she asked, pointing to the blood red circle with the downward pointing sword held in the crab's claws. He nodded. "If you should get the notion that you can recover your friend or send someone to destroy us; expect to find this in your quarters. This means I will personally scrap you. Understand? Good."

"Hey, Big Bot, you gotta see this." Cheetor exclaimed. 

"What is it?" Optimus asked.

"We've got some new signatures showing up on the scanners." Optimus walked over and bent down next to the young cat, peering at the screen. "There's also a Pred with them."

"Any idea who they are?"

"The computer says that the Pred is Stalker. The new ones are supposedly Rampage and Paraleasion."

"I want someone to check it out. Alert Depthcharge and Blackarachnia. Have them meet me at these coordinates." He pointed to a grid on the screen. "I want to know what those three are up to."

The trio of mismatched transformers marched through the woods, towards the lake. Stalker, their prisoner, kept wisely silent. Plans of escape ran through his circuits, one as preposterous as the last. The thing that he really needed was his captors to make a mistake, preferably one that was so large that he would get away unscathed.

"Maybe we could take him apart, piece by piece." Paraleasion suggested.

"You really are an amateur." Rampage scoffed, "We slowly melt away his exostructure, after we have disabled his stasis lock command of course, then drip acid on his neural network. He should be screaming for a very long time."

"Ooh, you truly are a master."

Blackarachnia, Depthcharge and Optimus met at the clearing again.

"Any luck?" Optimus asked.

"None." Depthcharge replied.

"They could be using a dampening device to hide from us." Blackarachnia suggested.

"Possibly. Keep searching. Meet me back here in a megacycle if you don't find anything. If you do find them, radio me and I'll be there as soon as I can." Optimus said, "Something about this doesn't feel right."

Rampage and Paraleasion looked down at the body of Stalker in disappointment. Halfway through the torture, he set off his self destruct device.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Paraleasion sighed.

"He was giving off so much fear too," Rampage said, wistfully.

"I'd better clean this up before it attracts any animals." She nudged the body with her foot, hoping it would miraculously spring to life. No such luck. The large hole in Stalker's chest and the ruined spark casing told the duo that he was well and truly dead.

"There are always others."

"True." Paraleasion grabbed the body by the wrists and started to haul it out of her cave.

"Shh, listen." Blackarachnia whispered. The others stopped what they were doing and looked expectantly at her. "You hear that? Sounds like someone's dragging something."

"It's coming from over there. Let's check it out." Optimus said. The three made their way towards the sound. They peered through the trees to make out a small black figure.

"Who is it?"

"Paraleasion. At least, I think it is." Depthcharge said.

"You're not sure?"

"She looks different than when I saw her last."

"Great. How many more Transformers are going to pop out of the woodwork?" Optimus and Depthcharge looked over at Blackarachnia, an odd expression on their faces. "What? It's the truth. Oh, nevermind." She threw her hands in the air in exasperation. "So, what do we do with her?"

"She could be hauling stuff from her ship." Optimus suggested.

"Her wreck is several clicks in that direction." She pointed the direction Paraleasion was going. The three waited, watching as Paraleasion dragged her burden closer to them. She finally dropped it, straightening up and walked away. As she went out of sight, the three went to see what she had dropped. They were horrified to find the mangled body of Stalker.

"Are you sure it was wise to let the Preds get her, Primal?" Depthcharge asked. Optimus, eyes locked on the body, said nothing.


	10. Stalker of Shadows

Chapter 10  
Stalker of Shadows

Tigerhawk stood outside of the Maximal base, gazing over the landscape. He had overheard Optimus and several others talking heatedly about the current problem which involved a mysterious femme. Apparently Optimus was feeling guilty about Stalker's death at her hands and her conversion to the Predacons. From the description of the actions of the female, she was a danger to all of them. He had deduced that she must be working alone since the Predacons would throw the body in the recycling bin instead of dumping it in the forest. Many things he heard were disturbing, something that a sane person wouldn't do. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a black shape. He looked over, not moving his head, and saw a creature similar to his beast mode, only black. It perched on a high outcropping of rocks, watching the doors intently, tail twitching. From the description of the female, this looked like her. Why would she be at the base? Unless it was under orders from Megatron. He decided to stay there to observe the creature without her knowing that he knew that she was there.

Paraleasion sat, watching and waiting. She was out of reach from any of the smaller Transformers, but not from Optimus. That didn't worry her because she wasn't there after Optimus, but for someone else. Someone who had committed unforgivable grievances against her and Rampage. She noted that the Maximals had a new addition to their ranks. From what she could tell, he didn't know that she was there. But she knew better than to let his inattentiveness go unnoticed. She waited for what seemed an eternity before the blast doors opened, letting her quarry through. Paraleasion crouched down, eyes narrowed, ears laid back, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

Tigerhawk watched as she assumed a hunting position before turning fully around. He saw her prey and immediately took action. A fireball went whizzing over Depthcharge's head, hitting the supporting rocks beneath Paraleasion's perch. They exploded in a hail of pebbles. Paraleasion let out a startled scream, flying upwards. She snarled down at Tigerhawk. Depthcharge picked himself off the ground, throwing Tigerhawk a glare before turning his attention to his would-be attacker.

"Paraleasion, devastate." Her animal form peeled away and Tigerhawk was able to see what he was up against. In the air she looked like a fallen angel in all her glory. The sunlight glinted off her ebony wings, her black, armor-like body was easily discernable from the blue sky. Hatred twisted her face into a horrid mask, her violet eyes burning an invisible hole in Tigerhawk's body. Dark storm clouds appeared in the sky, swirling. The wind kicked up dust clouds, and made the air turbulent enough that it was hard for Paraleasion to stay aloft. She merely laughed at Tigerhawk. "Your attempts are pathetic." Depthcharge, one arm shielding his eyes, the other busily aiming his weapon at the femme.

"No. I started this, I shall finish it." Tigerhawk yelled. Depthcharge lowered his weapon slowly, carefully watching the two. A strong wind wrapped itself around Paraleasion, flinging her far across the landscape. The clouds disappeared. Tigerhawk took flight, following the retreating black figure.

Paraleasion landed somewhere in the middle of an icy embankment. Her systems were minorly rattled, and nothing was heavily damaged. She picked leaves and sticks from her wings. She heard the sound of wings, but thought nothing of it. He wouldn't possibly pursue her this far away from his base. When storm clouds started brewing, she knew how wrong she was. Paraleasion stood, weapon in hand, searching the horizons for any hint of Tigerhawk. She spotted him and waited as he came into her weapon's range. The closer he got to her, the more he climbed in altitude so that she wouldn't be able to fire on him. Frustrated, Paraleasion took to the air in pursuit of the Maximal. She aimed carefully but lightning struck the gun, rendering it inoperable. She dropped the light weapon and turned towards Tigerhawk. He had stopped. The two faced each other, unarmed.

Paraleasion rushed in first. Their hands met and locked together, they circled in the air. They snarled at one another, each refusing to let go of the other. Lightning struck again, chaining from the ground up progressively until it hit Paraleasion. She screamed, some of her circuits sizzling and popping. Suddenly she released her grip, plummeting into the snow. A metallic shriek ripped itself from her voice box. Her back bowed, hands scrabbling at the crusted snow. She felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside. Intense pain covered her body. Slashes, scorches and other wounds appeared on her body. She stopped, her chest heaving. Tigerhawk landed nearby, cautiously watching her. She felt light, empty and floaty. Paraleasion watched as the other half of Rampage's spark floated from her body. Weakly, she reached out for it with the only arm that would work. She tried to catch it, but she couldn't move very well. Her arm dropped back beside her body.

"Who's pathetic now?" Tigerhawk asked as her optics dimmed and she powered down. He took one final look at her before flying off.

  
  


~The End

  
  


Well, it didn't turn out exactly as planned, but at least it's finished. For now, eh-heh. Comments are duly appreciated, any kind. Flames will just be used to keep my heating bill down. Anyways, thanks for reading. -- Shadoe


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